Alstom’s first Nordic wind farm starts production in Finland

14/06/2013

Alstom’s first Nordic wind project starts electricity production in line with the planning scheduled. Located in Lappeenranta, Finland, the Muukko 21 MW wind farm is equipped with seven Alstom’s ECO110 wind turbines, each 3.0 MW.

Chairman of the board of TuuliMuukko Oy, Vesa Eskoli, said: ”Alstom was able to execute the project in time and according to original plans, which we appreciate a lot.

This project is one of the biggest onshore wind farms in Finland with estimated annual electricity production of over 40 GWh, covering the needs of over 3000 private houses with electric heating. It is also the first wind farm project for TuuliSaimaa, increasing Finland installed wind power capacity of around 10 %. The electricity produced at Muukko will replace electricity produced with coal.

Following the contract signed with TuuliMuukko Oy in July 2012, Alstom started to build the wind turbines in the company’s manufacturing facilities in Spain, and the erection started end of February in Lappeenranta. The commissioning and testing started end of April, when the first turbine was connected to the grid. The testing of the wind turbines will continue during summer 2013.

Alstom will be also responsible for the operation and maintenance services of the wind farm for 12 years. Markus Alholm, president of Alstom Finland, said: ”We are very pleased with Alstom’s first Nordic wind farm reference, which we have executed in a short timing scheduled in winter conditions, answering to the needs of our demanding customer in good cooperation.”

The inauguration of the Muukko wind farm will be held in August, Wednesday 21, and the public will be also invited.

The rotor diameter of the ECO110 turbines is 110 meters and the hub height 90 meters. Theturbines are suited for medium to low wind sites and will feature a Cold Climate Version to suit Finnish winter conditions. The ECO110 wind turbines are part of Alstom’s proven ECO100 turbine platform, and the result of more than 30 years of expertise in wind turbine design. Alstom has installed over 2500 wind turbines in over 150 wind farms, totalling around 4000 MW. All Alstom wind turbines are based upon the unique and proven ALSTOM PURE TORQUE® rotor support concept that protects the drive train from deflection loads, ensuring higher reliability and lower maintenance costs

TuuliMuukko Oy is jointly owned by TuuliTapiola ky and Tuulisaimaa Oy. The TuuliMuukko project is financed with private financing.